The Outraged Class D

Yosuke Hirata's attempts to soothe the situation had some effect.

But the atmosphere remained dismal.

"Tch."

Sudo Ken released Yamauchi Haruki's collar, spat fiercely, and slumped back into his seat, looking thoroughly irritable.

He had backed down quite easily.

It seemed he knew it wasn't the other guy's fault; he had just been looking for a punching bag to vent his frustrations.

Meanwhile.

Yamauchi sat slumped on the floor.

His face was flushed with anger, and he kept muttering things like "It's not my fault" under his breath.

He looked deeply resentful.

Clearly.

Losing face in front of so many people was hard to swallow.

If Sudo weren't so tall and imposing, he definitely would have lunged at him.

Ike Kanji crouched nearby, sighing as he patted his shoulder in consolation, though it had little effect.

The girls' side was faring much better.

Seeing the handsome and gentle Hirata pleading with them, they managed to suppress their anxiety for the time being and kept the matter of the points to themselves.

"Do you have any leads?"

At that moment.

Unable to find an answer after deep thought, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but speak to her seatmate, asking without shifting her gaze.

After all.

In her eyes, Xu Nuo's intelligence far surpassed her own.

To have grasped the school's rules within just a few days of starting was the mark of a genius, someone surely on par with her brother.

Perhaps he had a clue.

Hearing this, Xu Nuo smiled and spoke with complete candor.

"I do."

"I'm the one who did it."

Horikita: "..."

She was speechless, glaring at Xu Nuo with her reddish-purple fox eyes in dissatisfaction. "If you don't know, just say so. There's no need to make up such jokes or spout nonsense."

Tsk, tsk.

These days, nobody believes you even when you tell the truth.

Xu Nuo couldn't help but sigh.

However.

Seeing him remain silent.

Activating her World-Shocking Wisdom, Horikita Suzune thought of his feelings for her, and a complex look crossed her eyes. Whatever she had imagined, her tone softened significantly.

"I didn't mean to target you."

"It's just..."

She went on and on, explaining her reasoning.

Hearing this, Xu Nuo looked surprised, unable to take in a single word of what followed. Although she hadn't said it explicitly.

It was obvious, though...

Hell, this tsundere was actually apologizing?

"Hmph."

Seeing his surprised expression.

Though Horikita Suzune didn't know what he was thinking, she felt as if her words had been wasted. She let out a cold huff and couldn't be bothered to speak further.

Immediately after.

Horikita looked around.

Although the atmosphere was still poor, they had at least calmed down slightly, which, in her view, made it a good time to share her information.

That's right.

She was ready to lay her cards on the table.

Horikita Suzune did not believe this malfunction would last long; she estimated it would be resolved by the afternoon at the latest.

Since that was the case.

It would be better to resolve everything before class started today.

That way, fewer points would be deducted.

Thinking of this.

Horikita Suzune took a deep breath, a look of determination appearing in her reddish-purple eyes. She slowly began to walk, heading straight toward the podium without looking aside.

"Clack, clack, clack..."

The crisp and resolute sound of her footsteps seemed exceptionally clear at this moment, and everyone's gaze turned toward her.

Hirata was stunned at first when he saw her walk onto the stage.

Immediately after.

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on the face of this good-natured guy, and he gazed at the girl with encouragement and even gratitude.

That's great!

Horikita-san really is someone willing to think for the sake of the class...

"Ho~"

Xu Nuo wore a strange expression.

He naturally knew what this person was trying to do.

Whose subordinate is so brave? To actually choose this moment... Hajin, you guy...

Soon.

Horikita Suzune stood still at the podium.

Supporting herself with both hands on the edge of the desk, her cold gaze swept over every face with different emotions below, and after brewing for a long time, she finally spoke slowly.

"I have an important piece of information regarding the school to share."

"This information is enough to give our Class D a huge advantage in the upcoming competition. To obtain this information, I personally paid two million Private Points as the cost."

"Two... two million?!"

"Are you kidding me!"

"Competition? What do you mean?"

In an instant.

Incredible exclamations erupted from the audience.

"So—"

Horikita Suzune automatically filtered out these noises and continued in a matter-of-fact tone:

"I hope that once the school's system is repaired, everyone here can pay 50,000 Private Points each to share this cost."

Dead silence.

A full three seconds of dead silence.

The next moment, the entire Class D classroom exploded.

"Huh? What did you say?!"

The first to jump up was Sudo Ken.

He slammed the table, the loud noise startling everyone. This red-haired youth looked like an enraged lion, glaring at Horikita with eyes spitting fire.

Already feeling disgruntled, he was almost furious at this moment.

"Two million?"

"And you want us to give you 50,000 each? Are you out of your mind or mentally deranged from wanting money?!"

"Exactly! Why should we!"

In an instant.

Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki immediately chimed in like a chorus; their expressions were exaggerated, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"I say—"

"Horikita-san, you must be under too much pressure and have lost your mind. Who knows if that information is real or fake."

"That's right, that's right!"

"I think you're just trying to scam us out of our points."

"Besides, what does the information you bought yourself have to do with us? It's not like I told you to buy it..."

The questioning from the Idiot Trio was like a fuse.

It instantly ignited the entire class.

"Hey, hey..."

"Two million, isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"Exactly."

"Our points have all hit zero; we can't even afford lunch, so where are we supposed to get fifty thousand for her?"

"Who does she think she is!"

The small cliques of girls also began to whisper among themselves.

The looks they cast toward Horikita were filled with distrust and disdain, as if they were staring at a delusional swindler. Only Karuizawa Kei hesitated.

After all.

Horikita Suzune and Xu Nuo had been getting very close lately.

She wanted to chime in.

But she was afraid that since the two were friends, she would be loathed by Xu Nuo if she spoke up, so she simply remained silent.

On the other side.

The little angel of our Class D, Kushida Kikyo, was uncharacteristically silent at this moment, looking as if she were too stunned by the scene before her to know what to do.

This absolute idiot, she's actually courting death...

Hahahaha!!

No one knew just how ecstatic the little angel was on the inside. Kushida Kikyo kept her expression tightly locked, yet the corners of her mouth still couldn't help but curl up just a fraction.

No, I can't laugh yet...

At the same time.

Yosuke Hirata's face turned incredibly grim.

He looked at the girl beside him in disbelief, wearing the expression of someone who had been backstabbed by a trusted ally.

But soon.

He immediately adjusted his mindset and attempted to put out the fire.

"Everyone, calm down. I believe Horikita-san wouldn't speak without reason. Since she said it like that, this information must be very important to us."

"Perhaps..."

However.

His usually effective peacemaker attitude appeared incredibly pale and powerless at this moment.

"Tch, Hirata, don't let her fool you!"

"Exactly, she's probably just trying to scam us out of our money..."

Various malicious speculations and voices of doubt rose one after another, like countless poison-tipped arrows, all aimed squarely at the solitary figure on the podium.

"?!"

Horikita Suzune froze.

She couldn't believe that this was the reaction from everyone.

In her view, this information was for the benefit of the class, so it was only reasonable for everyone to chip in and share the cost.

As a result, their reactions caused her brain to short-circuit.

Fortunately.

What comforted Horikita was that.

There were still a few people in the class who hadn't spoken up.

Xu Nuo watched all of this with great interest, and seeing the girl look his way, he couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.

Awesome!

--No words were needed.

Horikita Suzune was not the type of coward to take insults lying down, and she immediately retorted with a cold, sharp-tongued mockery.

"It seems your barren brains are incapable of understanding..."

The debate against the masses began.

At this moment.

In the corner at the back of the classroom.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained expressionless, taking in everyone's reactions, and gave an imperceptible shake of his head.

Timing, method of delivery, countermeasures...

These were all failing grades. Forcing others to shoulder the burden of personal debt in a Class D that lacked a leader would inevitably lead to a backlash.

The intention was right.

But the method was wrong.

Leading to the current result, without a doubt.

He reached the conclusion above.

Suddenly.

Just as the shouting match intensified and the situation threatened to escalate, the classroom door was slammed open.

Sae Chabashira walked in with a grim expression.

"Quiet."

Her voice was stern, yet it only silenced the classroom for a moment; within seconds, the bickering resumed, leaving the homeroom teacher completely ignored.

Seeing this.

Sae Chabashira spoke in an angry tone.

"Quiet! Or I will have all of you expelled."

As soon as those words were spoken.

Class D fell deathly silent, forced to suppress their overflowing rage as they waited to see what instructions their homeroom teacher had.

Seeing this.

Yosuke Hirata breathed a sigh of relief, his previously somewhat gloomy expression instantly relaxing as he stepped forward to report the situation to the teacher.

Of course.

It was a sanitized version of events.

Finally, the good-natured boy asked with a hint of anticipation:

"Teacher Chabashira, is there any news from the school? When will our Private Points be returned?"

Everything had started because of the points.

Upon hearing this.

Sae Chabashira, who had been silent, seemed to recall something and cast a subtle glance toward the back of the classroom.

Then, she spoke coldly:

"The school is currently handling the matter. It is expected to be resolved by this afternoon at the latest, and the missing points will be fully returned to all students and faculty. Do not cause any trouble in the meantime."

That was right, all students and faculty.

This glitch.

It wasn't just the students; the Private Points of teachers and staff members had also dropped to zero.

Hearing this.

Yosuke Hirata breathed a sigh of relief.

Many boys and girls in the class also let out sighs of relief. Compared to the school's vague tone, the specific timeframe provided by their own homeroom teacher put everyone at ease.

At this moment.

Sae Chabashira's gaze fixed on a certain person.

"Xu Nuo."

"Come out for a moment."